In airplanes, cars, trains, trams, boats and many other vehicles people are travelling on seats that are intended for sitting. Sleeping well in e.g. airplanes, especially on a long flight, is therefore not easy and it is difficult to find a comfortable position. The seats might be tiltable but usually they can be reclined backwards only to a given extent due to the restricted place reserved for each passenger and seat.
For traveling, having a neck pillow can make resting and sleeping easier for those that have trouble falling asleep in moving vehicles. A neck travel pillow offers support for sleeping on airplanes and in cars but is inconvenient to carry around. The best pillows for neck support will vary on the person and the severity of the pain when trying to sleep in the awkward upright position they have to be in during the travel. Some require a stiff and tight fit while others just need the softest pillow possible.
Known neck pillows are usually u-shaped and either they have an inner foam filling or they are inflatable. These u-shaped pillows provide a help, but they do not solve all problems in view of finding a comfortable sleeping position and keeping the pillow on place. For the best head support while being on the road, a neck travel pillow, even an inflatable one, can also aid in habitual body sores, ailments and problems.
Attempts have been made in constructing comfortable dollies instead.
US patent application 2012/0255099 discloses an outerwear garment that includes a hood with an interior inflatable space to support either the neck or the head of the person wearing it when the space is in an inflated state and having a tubular form. The inflatable space also has a valve and a tubular valve stem extending outwardly from the valve and is configured to receive a removable plug at a distal end of the valve stem.
WO publication 2011/047417 discloses a similar garment with a hood having a neck inflation portion and a lumbar inflation portion. The neck inflation portion may extend to the chin and cheekbones and up to the ears of the wearer to provide a little more support than just to the neck. The garment also includes an inflation tube extending through the jacket lining between the inflation portions and a pocket from which it may be extracted for inflation without removal of the garment. Automatic inflation means may alternatively be provided by pushing a button positioned on the garment to operate a source of compressed gas to expel into the inflatable portions.
DE utility model 20 2009 010 111 U1 is additionally mentioned as prior art comprising a jacket with a hood inside which there is a space to be filled with air for travelling comfort,
DE utility model 202 04 335 discloses a garment with an inflatable space inside the hood for protection against sound, wind, rain, snow and cold.
Inflatable hoods have previously been used also in life jackets and masquerade costumes.
The inflatable, spaces in these known solutions, however, are not shaped well enough to provide comfortable support and nor are they able to keep the position of the head stable.
UK patent application GB2492588 attempts to solve the problem with the slumping head of a person trying to sleep on a seat in a pane, train or car by means of a head support of straps. The head support comprises a strap for mounting on the head and additional support straps extending to fastening means mounted around the upper body or breast part of the person wearing the head support. This solution, however, only prevents movement of the head and gives no comfortable neck or head support in itself.
The object of the invention is a solution that fulfills all the problems with comfort and head movement at the same time.